A big-screen TV in the University of North Carolina Student Union airs coverage of the attacks.
(Photo: Dan Sears) |
UNC students grieve at a campus vigil on Polk Place.
(Photo: Dan Sears) 
9/11 Memorial in New Bern, NC.
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North Carolina resident Devin remembers being the only one in his class who knew about the attacks and having to describe what he had seen to his fellow students.
Written Stories
1. "I was in 4th grade. Teachers didn’t tell us about the attack, but let us know an event at the local skate rink hat evening was cancelled. A rumor started that someone got stabbed at the skate rink and that’s why the event got cancelled. I found out about the attacks when I got home from school."
- B. B.
- B. B.
2. "I was fresh out of high school, living in a tiny North Carolina town with my boyfriend while attending college in Charlotte. We heard the news on the car radio and immediately drove home and watched the towers fall on TV - horrified even more when we learned it wasn't a horrible accident.
My boyfriend and I took our car and went driving again - just wandering lonely country back roads in a sort of stunned silence. We eventually parked somewhere quiet and sat there talking somberly about our thoughts and fears. We worried about Charlotte being attacked and if we should go to classes in the coming weeks. We worried about the US going to war and the chance of him being drafted. We worried about what a war-time world would be like, 'War' was Nazis and Allied Forces in a distant past on a continent far away... not enemies that flew planes right above our heads."
- Davena Oaks
My boyfriend and I took our car and went driving again - just wandering lonely country back roads in a sort of stunned silence. We eventually parked somewhere quiet and sat there talking somberly about our thoughts and fears. We worried about Charlotte being attacked and if we should go to classes in the coming weeks. We worried about the US going to war and the chance of him being drafted. We worried about what a war-time world would be like, 'War' was Nazis and Allied Forces in a distant past on a continent far away... not enemies that flew planes right above our heads."
- Davena Oaks
3. "On September 11, 2001, I turned exactly 11.
I remember we had just finished my religious studies class. When the principal came in and told us to turn on the TV. We didn’t have much time to realize exactly what was going on before we watched live as the second plane hit.
When I returned home, my mom was unsure if I heard the news. She asked if school went well and if I wanted to open my gifts. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t excited about ripping open gifts. And I went upstairs and just sat.
Since then birthdays feel very hollow to me.
In 2002 my parents took me to NYC to see Ground Zero. There were these construction walls surrounding it that to my 12 year old self seemed to go on for miles and they all had messages.
My father told me to leave one and to mention my birthday so I did just that. I wrote,
'My birthday is 9/11' - Jesse"
- Jesse K.
I remember we had just finished my religious studies class. When the principal came in and told us to turn on the TV. We didn’t have much time to realize exactly what was going on before we watched live as the second plane hit.
When I returned home, my mom was unsure if I heard the news. She asked if school went well and if I wanted to open my gifts. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t excited about ripping open gifts. And I went upstairs and just sat.
Since then birthdays feel very hollow to me.
In 2002 my parents took me to NYC to see Ground Zero. There were these construction walls surrounding it that to my 12 year old self seemed to go on for miles and they all had messages.
My father told me to leave one and to mention my birthday so I did just that. I wrote,
'My birthday is 9/11' - Jesse"
- Jesse K.
4. "I was in middle school and they told the teachers to turn off the TV as it was too graphic. Such an important part of our history, schools should not keep us from experiencing those things no matter the grade.
The teachers weren't too happy about having to comply but they did."
- D. L. M.
The teachers weren't too happy about having to comply but they did."
- D. L. M.
5. "I was in detention doing bear crawls and the teacher turned the news off because we were paying attention to the TV instead of doing our punishment."
- G. O.
- G. O.
6. "Chapel Hill, NC. I had an 8 am class that morning, so I found out that a plane had hit when I got back to my dorm and saw my roommate glued to the TV. We watched the second plane hit.
The professor of my next class told us his wife worked in one of the twin towers, so class was canceled. We later found out she'd had an audition that morning that she hadn't told him about and was fine. It seemed everyone I knew there had a close-call story.
My parking pass was for a parking lot pretty far from my dorm, so I didn't usually drive anywhere mid-week. On Friday I got to my
car and found I'd forgotten to display my pass. I'd received two parking tickets: Monday, Sept 10 and early morning Tuesday, Sept 11. They didn't give out tickets the rest of the week. Everything stopped that week."
- G. J.
The professor of my next class told us his wife worked in one of the twin towers, so class was canceled. We later found out she'd had an audition that morning that she hadn't told him about and was fine. It seemed everyone I knew there had a close-call story.
My parking pass was for a parking lot pretty far from my dorm, so I didn't usually drive anywhere mid-week. On Friday I got to my
car and found I'd forgotten to display my pass. I'd received two parking tickets: Monday, Sept 10 and early morning Tuesday, Sept 11. They didn't give out tickets the rest of the week. Everything stopped that week."
- G. J.
7. "I was 5 about to turn 6, in first grade. I don’t really remember my teachers or anything making a big deal, they had computers in the classroom so I’m sure they probably knew, but it was just a regular school day for me. Maybe the principal told them not to show us or say anything.
My only vivid memory on 9/11 was my mom later going to one of those quarter newspaper dispenser things with me and buying a newspaper, I saw a building with a big explosion fireball at the top, I was like huh, okay maybe my mom really wants to see this Hollywood movie that’s on the cover. We still have that newspaper in our guest bedroom closet."
- Ann J.
My only vivid memory on 9/11 was my mom later going to one of those quarter newspaper dispenser things with me and buying a newspaper, I saw a building with a big explosion fireball at the top, I was like huh, okay maybe my mom really wants to see this Hollywood movie that’s on the cover. We still have that newspaper in our guest bedroom closet."
- Ann J.
8. "Was at Ft. Bragg. My unit went on full lock-down by 11:00 a.m. We were prepping weapons and load outs by 1:00 p.m.
We waited for everyone to get everything together from the higher ups then flew to Europe that evening."
- K. C.
We waited for everyone to get everything together from the higher ups then flew to Europe that evening."
- K. C.
9. "I was a Kindergartner in Cary, NC and my mom kept me and my older brother home from school.
I remember being in my pumpkin pajamas in my mom's bedroom when we saw what was happening on the news. I told my older brother we'd be safe because we could just 'crawl under momma's bed and hide!' and he said,
'No, they'll blow us to smithereens!'
That's all I remember from that day but I can still hear my brother's voice in my head every time I think about it."
- Alexandria S.
I remember being in my pumpkin pajamas in my mom's bedroom when we saw what was happening on the news. I told my older brother we'd be safe because we could just 'crawl under momma's bed and hide!' and he said,
'No, they'll blow us to smithereens!'
That's all I remember from that day but I can still hear my brother's voice in my head every time I think about it."
- Alexandria S.
10. "I was driving to work, listening to a call-in radio show. They'd have topics like,
'Today's show is about the most embarrassing place you've ever been thrown out of, call us and tell us your story...'
I forget what the specific topic of the day was, but the caller at that moment just happened to mention they were a pilot as a hobby. At some point, they interrupted the show to mention that a small plane had flown into the World Trade Center.
The show and my drive continued. The hosts make a couple of small jokes like,
'Have you ever thought of flying your plane into a building, maybe to get back at an ex?'
Just as I am pulling into our office park, they cut in and tell us that a plane has flown into the other tower. Again no details, but the show took a somber turn.
I got into work and rushed to my desk to see if I could find more information online. My manager Steve walked up and asked me how I was doing.
'America is at war,' I said.
He looked at me strangely, smiled politely and laughed a bit. I assume now that he was waiting for a stupid punchline to what he probably thought of as a bad joke. I went to CNN.com to show him, but it would time out. Yahoo timed out as well. Nobody other than my manager said a word to me, they just kept working!
Then I remembered there was a TV in the interview rooms over by HR. I got up and ran over to it and turned it on.
Standing alone in that small room I yelled out,
'Steve, get over here.'
A couple of people from HR got there first, then Steve, then the rest of my coworkers, all crammed into a tiny room designed to sit three.
I've lived in four cities of a million people or more. Traffic sucks in all of them during every rush hour. September 12, 2001 is the only exception. People didn't tailgate, cut each other off.
It was eerily calm, as calm as a highway during morning commute could possibly be."
- F. J.
'Today's show is about the most embarrassing place you've ever been thrown out of, call us and tell us your story...'
I forget what the specific topic of the day was, but the caller at that moment just happened to mention they were a pilot as a hobby. At some point, they interrupted the show to mention that a small plane had flown into the World Trade Center.
The show and my drive continued. The hosts make a couple of small jokes like,
'Have you ever thought of flying your plane into a building, maybe to get back at an ex?'
Just as I am pulling into our office park, they cut in and tell us that a plane has flown into the other tower. Again no details, but the show took a somber turn.
I got into work and rushed to my desk to see if I could find more information online. My manager Steve walked up and asked me how I was doing.
'America is at war,' I said.
He looked at me strangely, smiled politely and laughed a bit. I assume now that he was waiting for a stupid punchline to what he probably thought of as a bad joke. I went to CNN.com to show him, but it would time out. Yahoo timed out as well. Nobody other than my manager said a word to me, they just kept working!
Then I remembered there was a TV in the interview rooms over by HR. I got up and ran over to it and turned it on.
Standing alone in that small room I yelled out,
'Steve, get over here.'
A couple of people from HR got there first, then Steve, then the rest of my coworkers, all crammed into a tiny room designed to sit three.
I've lived in four cities of a million people or more. Traffic sucks in all of them during every rush hour. September 12, 2001 is the only exception. People didn't tailgate, cut each other off.
It was eerily calm, as calm as a highway during morning commute could possibly be."
- F. J.
11. "I was in Asheville, home from college after a terrible car accident that left me bedridden for several weeks. I watched a lot of TV in that time. The news of the first plane broke and interrupted whatever I was watching, and I saw the second plane hit live in real time. Weird how our brains imprint things like this. I remember which sheets were on my bed, how my room was set up, the way the light came in the window, everything."
- Johnny C.
- Johnny C.
12. "Jacksonville is the city that houses Camp Lejeune, the largest marine base on the east coast. I was in 9th grade gym class. We had just gotten dressed for warm ups when I got called to the office. My sister was there to pick me up for the day, which was weird as I was not expecting it. She was silent, didn't really tell the front desk ladies why I was leaving.
When we got in the car she said that there had been an attack and my mom wanted me picked up ASAP. No one in the school knew when I left. My mom was a mess at work because my little brother could not get picked up, he was on a field trip to watch baby turtles hatch. By the time I got home, not a long drive, I saw the second tower hit. I just watched the news all day and tried to understand what it meant."
- Katie Matthews
When we got in the car she said that there had been an attack and my mom wanted me picked up ASAP. No one in the school knew when I left. My mom was a mess at work because my little brother could not get picked up, he was on a field trip to watch baby turtles hatch. By the time I got home, not a long drive, I saw the second tower hit. I just watched the news all day and tried to understand what it meant."
- Katie Matthews
13. "In Rodanthe - outer banks, on vacation. My wife was pregnant with our second child. I was watching SpongeBob with my 4 year old daughter when the news broke on the screen. The rest of the day was spent glued to the TV watching it all unfold. Every bar & restaurant TV had the same, miserable content on their screens. After two days of 9/11 constant coverage, I decided I had enough and rented a Jet Ski for an hour. Got back on the dock and paid for another hour. Excellent therapy while on vacation, - highly recommended.
Came back home to Maryland and the empty skies were a glaring reminder that things had definitely changed. Every box truck looked like a bomb. Any trip through a tunnel was terrifying. We were a changed nation."
- R. May
Came back home to Maryland and the empty skies were a glaring reminder that things had definitely changed. Every box truck looked like a bomb. Any trip through a tunnel was terrifying. We were a changed nation."
- R. May
14. "It was one of my first memories. I was a little boy, at home in rural North Carolina and I remember my mom crying on the couch as she watched the TV. I ended up working it all out in my head with a lot of 'play therapy' I think it’s called. I would take my toy airplanes and crash them into different tall things and make them fall down. I also would color these pictures with crayons that were really haunting in hindsight. Stick figures crying while jumping out of buildings on fire. A four year old's rendition of death."
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
15. "'Now go back to your classroom and act like nothing has happened.'
Those are the words my headmaster spoke to me after telling me that two planes had crashed into the Twin Towers and that no one really knew what was going on. I remember thinking that I can’t do this. I can’t go back in there and pretend that the world has not changed forever.
I took a deep breath and walked dutifully into my classroom. I looked at my students sitting up front on the circle and lifted a quick prayer.
My own children, thank God, were there with me at school that day and I knew they were in capable hands.
The rest of the morning was a blur. I remember trying to pull up something, anything, on my computer. Finally I saw a photo of smoke billowing from Tower One. The image took my breath away.
The next thing I remember is taking my students out for recess. That day was not unlike today. The sky was cloudless and blue (we all remember that) and crisp and cool and tinged with a hint of autumn.
I looked up at the sky, anticipating something awful.
But we are in North Carolina. How could anything bad happen here?
Then: The world as we know it has just come to an end . . . who knows when and where “they” will strike again . . . no one is safe.
I carried on that day with a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat. Unlike thousands of others, I did not have a loved one who worked at the World Trade Center or the Pentagon or who had boarded United Flight 93 that morning en route to San Francisco.
What I was thinking of that morning was 1976. I was twenty years old and living in New York. The World Trade Center had opened just three years earlier and it was the city’s crowning glory. I was an aspiring model who spent time in the company of fellow models, photographers, and successful businessmen who were also my close friends. Very often we would all end up in my friend Martin’s limo headed downtown to the Twin Towers and Windows on the World.
I remember the elevator whisking us up to the 107th Floor. The doors opened onto a world we called our own. Standing there taking in all of Manhattan in its glittering nighttime beauty made us believe we were invincible. We laughed, drank, ate, and sealed the bonds of our friendships there. It was magical and it filled us with hope.
But on that clear September morning, that hope was shattered.
My daughters’ lives and the lives of the students in my classroom (and the rest of the world) were changed inextricably that day. We have all grown up in the shadow of those Mighty Towers. They are now a part of our collective history. They bind us. The Towers are gone, but the lessons learned from them live on.
Remembering the Twins. Forever in my heart."
- Laura Whitfield
Those are the words my headmaster spoke to me after telling me that two planes had crashed into the Twin Towers and that no one really knew what was going on. I remember thinking that I can’t do this. I can’t go back in there and pretend that the world has not changed forever.
I took a deep breath and walked dutifully into my classroom. I looked at my students sitting up front on the circle and lifted a quick prayer.
My own children, thank God, were there with me at school that day and I knew they were in capable hands.
The rest of the morning was a blur. I remember trying to pull up something, anything, on my computer. Finally I saw a photo of smoke billowing from Tower One. The image took my breath away.
The next thing I remember is taking my students out for recess. That day was not unlike today. The sky was cloudless and blue (we all remember that) and crisp and cool and tinged with a hint of autumn.
I looked up at the sky, anticipating something awful.
But we are in North Carolina. How could anything bad happen here?
Then: The world as we know it has just come to an end . . . who knows when and where “they” will strike again . . . no one is safe.
I carried on that day with a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat. Unlike thousands of others, I did not have a loved one who worked at the World Trade Center or the Pentagon or who had boarded United Flight 93 that morning en route to San Francisco.
What I was thinking of that morning was 1976. I was twenty years old and living in New York. The World Trade Center had opened just three years earlier and it was the city’s crowning glory. I was an aspiring model who spent time in the company of fellow models, photographers, and successful businessmen who were also my close friends. Very often we would all end up in my friend Martin’s limo headed downtown to the Twin Towers and Windows on the World.
I remember the elevator whisking us up to the 107th Floor. The doors opened onto a world we called our own. Standing there taking in all of Manhattan in its glittering nighttime beauty made us believe we were invincible. We laughed, drank, ate, and sealed the bonds of our friendships there. It was magical and it filled us with hope.
But on that clear September morning, that hope was shattered.
My daughters’ lives and the lives of the students in my classroom (and the rest of the world) were changed inextricably that day. We have all grown up in the shadow of those Mighty Towers. They are now a part of our collective history. They bind us. The Towers are gone, but the lessons learned from them live on.
Remembering the Twins. Forever in my heart."
- Laura Whitfield
16. "I was in the 4th grade and remember everyone staring at the TV in the school office. The office had big windows so I could see everyone looking at the TV but I couldn't see the TV from outside. The teacher took my whole class into the hallway multiple times so she could go to the office and also watch, and we just waited in a straight line for our teacher to escort us to wherever. Since teachers and staff were going in and out of the office, multiple students heard snippets of conversation and it eventually got to us that a plane had hit a building in NYC.
I thought about my family in the city, being scared of my grandfather being too sick to flee the if they had to escape. Everyone was so quiet and the students were well behaved and waiting to hear anything, not typical for little fourth graders. We didn't go home early or anything as a school but I do remember being anxious for my mom to pick me up. As soon as she did, I asked about our family and she told me she was sure they were fine since they lived so far uptown. I later heard her tell my dad she was scared about her brother, my uncle, because he worked odd hours and liked to hang out downtown when he was off. We didn't hear from them until much later that night, everyone was ok, but anxious and swapping theories about why this had happened."
- C. T.
I thought about my family in the city, being scared of my grandfather being too sick to flee the if they had to escape. Everyone was so quiet and the students were well behaved and waiting to hear anything, not typical for little fourth graders. We didn't go home early or anything as a school but I do remember being anxious for my mom to pick me up. As soon as she did, I asked about our family and she told me she was sure they were fine since they lived so far uptown. I later heard her tell my dad she was scared about her brother, my uncle, because he worked odd hours and liked to hang out downtown when he was off. We didn't hear from them until much later that night, everyone was ok, but anxious and swapping theories about why this had happened."
- C. T.
17. "I was very young, only 4 years old at a private Christian school where we were able to watch the events unfolding on tv. I’m obviously too young to remember the big details, but what I can I remember is my classmates and I sitting there, not really comprehending what was happening while our teacher sat in horror.
A few days later the whole school (K-3 through 12th grade) released balloons in tribute. Bad for the environment, I know that now."
- Guy
A few days later the whole school (K-3 through 12th grade) released balloons in tribute. Bad for the environment, I know that now."
- Guy
18. "I slept through the whole thing. I was off work on 9/11 so I stayed up drinking the night before. Woke up with a wicked hangover and a bunch of missed calls from my mom."
- B. K.
- B. K.
19. "That day was weird and I'll never forget any detail of that day. My mother's cousin, who we'd just seen that summer when we were visiting family in NYC and NJ, used to work in the towers. My mom called up there to make sure he was alright that morning and we were told he should be fine. What we didn't know is that he still worked for the firm but no longer worked in the towers - he worked closer to his home in Oakland, NJ. We thought everything was fine until we found out that he indeed was at a meeting on the 92nd floor of one of the buildings. I believe the meeting ran later than it was supposed to so he didn't have a chance to leave. He called his wife on the phone and told her that they were stuck above where the plane hit."
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
20. "I was in 10th grade Spanish class when the attacks began. Later in the day during algebra class, my teacher turned off the TV and made us do actual work because,
'Nobody knows anything yet, they're just repeating themselves, and it's better for all of you if we work on algebra 2 until we know more.'"
- Jordan Walsh
'Nobody knows anything yet, they're just repeating themselves, and it's better for all of you if we work on algebra 2 until we know more.'"
- Jordan Walsh
21. "6th grade, watching in class. I don’t remember much, but I do recall we knew pretty quick it was a terrorist attack and that we would likely be going to war soon. I knew about the concept of the draft, but didn’t really know the history or current policy surrounding it so it didn't concern me."
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
22. 7th grade, I was in my math class. I seem to remember that we were halfway through the class, we’d all finished our work and were either reading or talking quietly while our teacher sat at the desk. Was a normal, chill morning. Until the teachers desk phone rang and we all stopped to hear her pick it up, and I just remember how wide her eyes got. She was whispering,
“Oh God, no, okay I will.'
Then she got up to turn on the television. We got dismissed to the next class — same routine. Teachers eyes were glued to the TV and we just sat there and watched in stunned silence.
I don’t specifically remember if we saw the second tower get hit live, but I do remember how many kids were getting dismissed from school early. Phones and intercoms buzzing every second to release another kid to go home. People were panicking, kids wondering out loud if somehow something could happen in our state next. It didn’t seem too preposterous.
By the time I got to my last block, I remember being one of six kids who hadn’t gone home early. My mom worked at the high school nearby. When the bell rang, I walked over like I normally did. She told me all day, they’d done nothing but watch the horror unfold on live tv."
- S. S.
“Oh God, no, okay I will.'
Then she got up to turn on the television. We got dismissed to the next class — same routine. Teachers eyes were glued to the TV and we just sat there and watched in stunned silence.
I don’t specifically remember if we saw the second tower get hit live, but I do remember how many kids were getting dismissed from school early. Phones and intercoms buzzing every second to release another kid to go home. People were panicking, kids wondering out loud if somehow something could happen in our state next. It didn’t seem too preposterous.
By the time I got to my last block, I remember being one of six kids who hadn’t gone home early. My mom worked at the high school nearby. When the bell rang, I walked over like I normally did. She told me all day, they’d done nothing but watch the horror unfold on live tv."
- S. S.
23. I was a high school junior, leaving my French class when a kid I knew told me that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. It sounded so surreal I kind of didn't believe him.
My next class was an Auto CAD elective (like the engineering and design program). When I walked in and started to tell my teacher what I'd heard, and he was already turning on the TV. We just watched NBC the entire class. Two things I remember clearly.
There were some freshmen in the elective who were goofing off in the back at the start of class, not really paying attention, and that was frustrating to those of us who were trying to watch what was happening. All that changed when they cut to the shot of the Pentagon burning. When that happened, everyone got really quiet. It became clear that this was not just New York and that it was not over. Even though we were hundreds of miles from Washington, the mood changed, because it started to feel like we were in the middle of it and not just watching it unfold far away. That was also the moment where we realized we were about to go to war.
Second, I remember our teacher, who was a retired engineer, telling us he didn't think the buildings wouldn't fall. And then I remember watching them fall, and the horror on his face."
- G. M.
My next class was an Auto CAD elective (like the engineering and design program). When I walked in and started to tell my teacher what I'd heard, and he was already turning on the TV. We just watched NBC the entire class. Two things I remember clearly.
There were some freshmen in the elective who were goofing off in the back at the start of class, not really paying attention, and that was frustrating to those of us who were trying to watch what was happening. All that changed when they cut to the shot of the Pentagon burning. When that happened, everyone got really quiet. It became clear that this was not just New York and that it was not over. Even though we were hundreds of miles from Washington, the mood changed, because it started to feel like we were in the middle of it and not just watching it unfold far away. That was also the moment where we realized we were about to go to war.
Second, I remember our teacher, who was a retired engineer, telling us he didn't think the buildings wouldn't fall. And then I remember watching them fall, and the horror on his face."
- G. M.
24. "First grade, we had an early dismissal and I was just happy to get out of school. When I got home I saw the news, I didn't think it was real. My mom said,
'Planes flew into the towers.'
I couldn't understand the logic. I kept thinking how could a pilot have an accident like that, couldn't they see the building? I also thought that maybe the World Trade Center was so tall that planes regularly flew at that height."
- Anonymous
'Planes flew into the towers.'
I couldn't understand the logic. I kept thinking how could a pilot have an accident like that, couldn't they see the building? I also thought that maybe the World Trade Center was so tall that planes regularly flew at that height."
- Anonymous
25. "I was at a professional conference, laying in bed with a cracker of a hangover and a colleague I had hooked up with the night before. Was turning out to be a pretty good morning until I turned on the TV."
- Anonymous
- Anonymous